Pronoun Referents 1
Task
1: read the passage below and fill-in the following table
Smallpox, also known by its
Latin
name variola, is a serious, contagious disease. (1)
It is often fatal.
There is no specific treatment for smallpox, and the only prevention is
vaccination. The name smallpox comes from the Latin word for “spotted”
and refers to the raised bumps that appear on the face and body of an
infected person. Even if a victim of smallpox survives, (2)
these can lead to
permanent scarring. There are two main types of smallpox. Variola major
is the more severe and more common form of smallpox. Historically, (3)
it has an overall
fatality rate of about 30%. Variola minor is the less common form of
smallpox, and (4)
this a much less severe
disease, with death rates historically of 1% or less.
Pronoun-type
word
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refers
to.....
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1)
It
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2)
these
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3)
it
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4)
this
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Task
2: read the passage below and fill-in the following table
Usually only found in tropical
areas, malaria is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes, and (1)
they have a very
developed system for finding people and animals
to bite. The female mosquito which carries the malaria parasite has a
variety of sensors designed to track (2)
its prey. These
include chemical
sensors, visual sensors and heat sensors. Using the first of (3)
these, mosquitoes can
sense, almost smell, carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 36 metres
away. Mammals and birds give off these gases as part of (4)
their normal breathing,
and the mosquitoes home in on them. (4a)
It seems that certain
chemicals in human sweat also attract mosquitoes. People who do not
sweat very much tend to get bitten much less than people who do.
Mosquitoes do not only smell
their human prey, they also see (5)
them. If a person is
wearing clothing that contrasts with their background, and especially
if that person moves while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can notice
the colour contrast and the movement and are drawn to (6)
this. Anything that
moves is probably alive and therefore full of blood, so this is a good
technique for the mosquito. These terrible insects can also feel their
prey by using a kind of heat sensor. Mosquitoes are able to detect
heat, so (7)
they can find
warm-blooded creatures easily once (8)
their sight and sense
of smell have brought (9)
them close enough.
As you can see, evolution has
unfortunately equipped the mosquito with
a highly effective system of prey location.
Pronoun-type
word
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refers
to.....
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1)
they
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2)
its
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3)
these
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4)
their
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5)
them
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6)
this
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7)
they
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8)
their
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9)
them
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Task
3: Look at (4a)
it in the passage above. Does it refer to anything in the text?
If not, what is its purpose?
Task 4: This time you insert the pronouns into the correct place in the
passage. Fill-in the following table. The pronoun choices are it, this,
there and us. Some
can be used more than once.
In the 1930's, in the magazine
Science Wonder Stories the term "science fiction" first came to
be associated with the type of writing that the words suggest to (1)___
today. Before the appearance of this magazine and the term (2)___
introduced, stories in (3)___
genre of writing were usually referred to as "scientific romances".
Nowadays two abbreviations of science fiction, SF and Sci-Fi, are also
commonly used: the former being the term favoured by both authors
and fans and the latter more commonly used in the media.
(4)___
appears, however, that in the opinion of some purists there is a
difference between SF and Sci-fi. In SF, the science is an integral
part of the story without which the experience of the characters
involved cannot be fully comprehensible. Sci-fi, however, is more of a
type of entertainment in which the space-ships, the monsters and the
futuristic technology and costumes are simply (5)___
to amaze and attract the reader or viewer. In SF the science is the
story, but in Sci-fi (6)___
is no more than a prop.
No.
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Pronoun
is.....
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1)
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2)
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3)
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4)
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5)
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6)
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Go
on to Pronoun Referents 2